Persuasive Essay

Assignment: In this assignment, you will be required to pick a debatable or controversial topic and
craft an argument about the topic. You will need to develop a clear, strong thesis statement, a body with
supporting details and evidence, a conclusion, and outside sources. You will include quotes, summaries,
and paraphrases into your essay to help support your argument. Your job is to craft a logical, cohesive
argument that will persuade readers that your point of view/perspective is the correct one by using all
of the writing skills you have learned during this course.
Off-Limits Topics: Gun control, abortion, gay marriage, the Wars in Iraq/Afghanistan, legalizing
marijuana, the death penalty.
These topics are off-limits for a few reasons:
1. You do not have enough space to write a fully convincing argument
2. They have been written about to death already, and there is still no generally accepted consensus
3. Experts have debated these for years with no solution/agreement in sight; ergo, it would be unlikely
that you would be able to offer a new perspective on these topics
4. I've read enough of these papers during my career; I'd like to see something new
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you to make and support logical arguments in an
academic setting.
Requirements: Minimum of 2 pages, no more than 4. Minimum of 3 outside sources, cited in MLA
format, a Works Cited Page (this does NOT count as part of the page length). 12-pt. Times New Roman
font, typed, double-spaced.
Due Date: Rough draft due on Thursday, July 14 by 11:59 p.m. via email. Final draft due Wednesday,
July 20, in class.
Grade: Rough draft 30 points. Final draft 35 points